Engineering common admission test will hit rural students

The move of the joint councils of IITs, NITs and IIITs to hold a common admission examination would make it more difficult for students, especially those from rural areas where school infrastructure is poor, Super 30 founder Anand Kumar today said.

The move of the joint councils of IITs, NITs and IIITs to hold a common admission examination would make it more difficult for students, especially those from rural areas where school infrastructure is poor, Super 30 founder Anand Kumar today said.

“If there can be one test for more competitive AIIMS examination, which has fewer seats and more candidates, and IIMs, why can't there be so similar test for IITs,'' Kumar told PTI.

''The process being adopted is more cumbersome and it will only add more pressure on the students,'' he said.

Anand said the move to implement the common admission examination from 2013 would create confusion among the current batch of students. ''If at all the new system is to be implemented, it should be at least from 2014 so that the students could have enough time to adjust. After all the changes are for the students.''

Maintaining that there was uncertainty still about the mechanism of the proposed two-tier test, he said if JEE-Mains and JEE-Advanced were held the same day it would be psychologically draining for the students.

''More thought needs to be given to the proposed changes before implementing them,'' he added.

The proposed reform to bring focus back to the schooling system by giving weightage to performance in Class XII Board examinations normalized on percentile basis would also be a serious challenge, as there is huge gulf between schools of the CBSE and ICSE boards and those under state boards.

The formula to be adopted for percentile calculation is also not clear, as all state boards have different yardsticks, he added